Seaweed Sketching Workshop with Annie Lord

Join artist Annie Lord for a mixed media drawing workshop exploring the unique properties of seaweed.

Combining the close observational techniques of botanical illustration with expressive drawing techniques, this workshop will shine a light on the exquisite structures and colours of seaweed. Experiment with inky washes, creative mark-making and layered imagery to capture the fluidity and transparency of seaweed.

All materials will be provided but feel free to bring along your favourite pencils, sketchbooks etc.

Annie Lord is an artist, writer and facilitator. Her work explores how we interact with the physical world – transforming plants, animals and minerals into objects of artistic, scientific and domestic value. In 2024-25 she was the Connecting Threads Artist in Residence in Berwick-upon-Tweed, creating work to honour the 400th anniversary of Berwick Bridge.

The Neighbouring Orchard, a major ongoing artwork by Annie commissioned by Art Walk Projects, has seen a community of 200 apple trees planted out across Edinburgh’s coastal suburbs. The orchard marked its fifth anniversary in 2025.

As a writer, Annie has written a book about The Neighbouring Orchard (published in 2022 by Art Walk Press) and completed her Masters in Creative Non-Fiction at Manchester Writing School. She was shortlisted for the 2023 Nan Shepherd Prize for underrepresented voices in nature writing and is currently developing her award-nominated manuscript, Morphoses.

Suitable for artists of all levels; from beginners through to those looking for a creative refresh.

SCHEDULE

12:00 - 13:30 Part One

Introductions, Artist Talk, Warm Up Exercises, Drawing Demonstration and Practice I

13:30 - 14:00 Comfort Break

14:00 - 15:00 Part Two

Drawing Demonstration and Practice II, Goodbyes & Evaluation

Gifts from the Land is a series of workshops led by Scotland-based artists and craftspeople sharing with you their carefully developed knowledge on working with natural materials – inviting you to grow your creative practice and connect more deeply with the land around you.

Treasures of the Deep is a three-month pilot programme that takes the St Andrews Botanic Garden’s algal collection as its anchor and point of departure. Through a series of lunchtime talks, workshops, and an exhibition, we invite our audiences, local and international artists, writers, academics and organisations to explore seaweed as both a biological material and a medium for reflecting on broader environmental, social, and feminist issues. Together, we will examine how algal collections can inspire new ways of thinking, providing insights into our past, present, and future relationships with the natural world.

To increase accessibility, we have chosen a sliding scale for our ticket prices. If you can afford a full-price ticket, and would like to support others to attend, please choose an upper-tier "pay it forward" ticket. If you would like to attend, but affording a ticket is a barrier, please feel free to book a reduced ticket - we are happy to offer a small contingent of discounted tickets to those who would otherwise face barriers to access. All donations and ticket sales are essential in allowing us to continue offering events such as these - we're grateful for all our supporters who attend our events and are advocates for our work.